Person of Interest: Julie Leven

As a violinist with the Handel and Haydn Society and Boston Baroque, Julie Leven is used to grand venues and seats filled with well-heeled Bostonians, symphony buffs, and critics. On a recent winter evening, though, she brought her violin and her nonprofit group, Shelter Music Boston, to a far less grandiose setting: the Kitty Dukakis Treatment Center for Women in Jamaica Plain. When she raised her instrument and began to play, a group of women, tired from a long day of therapy, went as quiet as any classical audience. â€śThey talk about hope [and] feeling hopeful,â€ť Leven says, â€śwhich is remarkable.â€ť That concert was one of the last at the Kitty Dukakis center, which closed in February, but Leven will continue to play at the Pine Street Inn and Rosieâ€™s Place. Thatâ€™s hope, one note at a time. â€”Kimya Kavehkar